


All I Ask Of You

by MedieavalBeabe



Category: Loki/Georgiana - Fandom
Genre: AU modern, Gen, Growing Up, Loki/Georgiana Friendship to Love, Love, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-22 21:43:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2522813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedieavalBeabe/pseuds/MedieavalBeabe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime<br/>Say the word and I will follow you<br/>Share each day with me, each night, each morning<br/>Anywhere you go, let me go too<br/>Love me; that's all I ask of you..." Phantom of the Opera</p><p>Loki and Georgiana have always been close friends, but could they ever be anything more?</p>
            </blockquote>





	All I Ask Of You

She runs. She knows there’s only one place she can run to now; one place that is welcoming and warm; one place where she can be safe. One place that can feel like home. With the one person who won’t judge, won’t say “I told you so” or tell her how stupid she’s been. The one person she can always run to at any time. The one person who is always there and who always will be.

 

***

 

Their families have always been close friends, so it’s no wonder that Thor and Loki Odinson are friends with Georgiana Spencer. But she and Loki are the same age, so they’re closer. She gets along with Thor alright, and vice versa, but it’s Loki who she sits with in school, Loki who she plays with in the back garden, Loki who she talks to most.

 

She is the only friend Loki has, and the only one he will ever need.

 

So is it any wonder that he gets a little protective sometimes?

 

“Stop it, Thor,” he finally snaps one day as they make their way to Georgiana’s house. The Spencers have been on holiday this summer, all the way over to exotic Sorrento, just as Thor, Loki and their parents have been to Iceland for the holidays. But now they’re both back in the same street in the same patch of London and Loki can’t wait to see his best friend again.

 

“What?” Thor asks, innocently. He’s thirteen now, three years older than Loki and Georgiana, and all the way to her house he’s been chatting about catching up with “Gee” as he, and her mother and quite a lot of people, except for Loki, call her. But Loki’s had enough of it now. “I’m just saying that-”

 

Loki turns to him, trying to express exactly what he’s feeling without sounding selfish. “It’s just...she’s my friend. You’ve got Sif, and Volstagg, and Fandral, and Hogun-”

 

“They’re your friends too,” Thor insists, stoutly.

 

“No, they’re yours. You have them. Let me have Georgiana.”

 

Thor merely raises his eyebrows and says nothing. Loki sighs. “Your friends don’t like me. Georgiana does.”

 

Before Thor can answer, however, the front door bursts open and Georgiana comes racing towards them, a look of pure delight plastered over her face. Immediately any fears that Loki has about losing her friendship to Thor are lost as she flings her arms around him with a delighted cry of “I missed you so much!”

 

Loki grins as he returns her hug; it’s not a smug grin or a smirk, just a grin of pleasure at seeing her again. They’ve been texting and occasionally emailing, but it’s not the same. “Hello, Georgiana.”

 

“Didn’t you miss me?” She pulls away and pouts, mockingly, making him laugh.

 

“Of course, but I wasn’t going to admit it in public, was I?” he jokes.

 

Georgiana turns to Thor with a grin. “Hi, Thor, good to see you. Come on.” She grabs Loki’s arm and drags him into the house. Thor follows with a small shake of the head, seeing what the pair of them can’t quite see just yet.

 

***

 

Loki gets bullied sometimes. Not badly, just people sometimes tease him because he’s quiet and likes to read and get on with his work rather than play sports and cause a ruckus in class. Neither does Georgiana, but she’s a girl and sort-of popular; that is, her classmates always treat her nicely, even though they can’t figure out why she’s friends with someone like Loki. He can deal with it, though; it’s usually just the occasional mutter of “Freak” when no one else is listening, or the occasional tease of “Stay away from him or you’ll catch the weirdness” or even the occasional bump of the shoulder in passing followed by a mocking “Sorry.” But he can take it; it’s not much different to the way Thor and his friends sometimes tease him.

 

But when they reach secondary school, things take a different turn.

 

Loki supposes later he had it coming; he should have known better than to retaliate when people call him stupid names, he should have just walked away and let it wash over him instead of coming out with some cutting remark that earned him a beating. But as it happens, he doesn’t walk away, or keep his mouth shut, and the next thing he knows the entire school football team is laying into him. He instinctively throws his arms over his head and cowers in a ball as the blows rein down, earning him a few laughs from onlookers as they jeer about how he’s too scared to fight back.

 

Then, suddenly, like a mother lion protecting her cubs from hyenas, Georgiana is fighting her way through the fray. “Stop it! Leave him alone!” she shouts, pushing the biggest boy, the one who’s doing most of the hitting, with all her strength away from Loki. He staggered backwards, looking startled that a girl’s suddenly getting involved.

 

“Who’s this who thinks she’s so tough, then?” asks one of the others, as they finally cease hitting Loki, who stays where he is, just in case.

 

“He’s my friend, so leave him alone!” Georgiana snaps, folding her arms.

 

“Ooh, do you always get your girlfriend to fight your battles for you, Odinson?” the boy she pushed away jeers.

 

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Loki retorts, without thinking.

 

“Oh, so she’s free for the taking, then, is she?” the other boy asks, going to touch Georgiana.

 

She slaps his hand away. “Not to you!”

 

Annoyed that anyone has dared lay hands on his friend, his, no one else’s, Loki scrambles to his feet at once. “Don’t you touch her!”

 

“What’s going on, here?”

 

It’s the Head and everyone groans inwardly. As the boys from the football team start babbling some response, however, Georgiana grabs Loki’s arm and pulls him away from them. “Are you ok?” she asks, looking over him worriedly.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Loki replies, which is true enough. He’s aching in places but otherwise he’s alright.

 

Georgiana quickly wraps him in a hug. “I said I’m fine,” Loki mutters, but he does hug her back. “Thanks for that, though.”

 

“What are friends for?” she murmurs softly back.

 

No one dares hit Loki again after that.

 

***

 

When they have sleepovers, they always share a bed. It never comes to anything other than sleeping and it’s just something they’ve always done, well, ever since their first sleepover at Loki’s house, that is. They were meant to sleep in separate beds; Georgiana was in Loki’s and Loki took a campbed on the floor, but a few night terrors later, she asked him to join her in the bed and he didn’t say no. So, now whenever one sleeps over the other’s house, they share a bed.

 

“We’re like Morecambe and Wise,” Loki points out one night as they settled down together, facing one another and just talking.

 

“Or like Randy and Idris in Satellite City,” Georgiana laughs.

 

“So, which one of those are you, then?”

 

“Randy, of course; the young, good looking one.”

 

“No way!”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Well, I’m nothing like Idris; so it’s got to be the other way around!”

 

“You are so Idris!”

 

They’re thirteen by this point, but neither of them feel weird about still sleeping in the same bed. Soon, though, they’ll both be too big to share a single bed with the other. And, anyway, they might be teenagers but that doesn’t mean they can’t both be childish sometimes, as Loki proves when he grabs the spare pillow and starts battering her with it. Georgina laughs and throws a few soft punches at him. They end up wrestling with Loki pinning her down on her face and tickling her mercilessly.

 

It never occurs to him they’re both growing up at this point; that he’s on the road to becoming a man, she on the road to becoming a woman and that soon they’ll probably both look at one another differently.

 

***

 

When they’re fifteen, of course, other people start noticing them as potential dating partners. Georgiana finds herself asked out a few times, by football jerks and kind people alike. She turns them all down, however, which Loki can’t quite get over because he’s not been approached by any of the popular girls, but she’s been drawing the attention of more than a few popular boys in their class, and yet turned down each one.

 

“Alright,” he says, finally, as they walk home from school one day, side by side. “I know you’d never date Peter (Chief Bully/Jerk/Footballer) in a million years, but there’s nothing wrong with Ed (Sweet Nerd) or Matt (Surprisingly Fit Geek).”

 

Georgiana shrugs, brushing a strand of her long blonde hair out of her eyes. “I know that, it’s just...”

 

“What?”

 

“Well...you know...first dates, they usually lead to...um...kissing...”

 

Loki shoots her a mischievous glance. “What; you’re nervous about that?”

 

“Well, yes.”

 

“Don’t be, you’ll be fine.”

 

“How do you know?” Georgiana challenges, coolly. Loki doesn’t answer, partly because he doesn’t know how to say what he’s thinking, that she’s Georgiana, of course she’ll be fine when everything she does is wonderful, and partly because she doesn’t give him time to as she adds “I mean, neither of us have ever been kissed before, and...well, they say your first time should be special.” She sighs and looks away from him. “Loki...what if I’m no good at it?”

 

Loki thinks for a moment, and then shrugs. “You could always practise...with me. I mean,” he adds, flushing as she glances at him, “I wouldn’t laugh at you; and who’d take care of you on your first go better than your best friend?”

 

Georgiana smiles, suddenly both excited and nervous at the prospect of Loki being her first kiss. “I’d like that.”

 

***

 

They decide to go to that place in Epping Forest they found a while back; the place Loki sometimes calls “Somewhere Only We Know,” after the song, because whenever they go there it’s always deserted and untouched, like they’re the only ones who know about it. To them it’s a special place, there’s something magical about it, like something from a fantasy film or a historical drama. It’s where they once found a stone split into two halves that looked like both sides of a heart, and they decided to keep a piece each, like a symbol of their friendship. Now, though, it has a different purpose, this place; it’s not a refuge from the outside world now, it’s a place that they can go where they know they won’t be disturbed when they have their first kiss.

 

They sit on the large stone they always sit on, together, side by side, but closer than usual. Georgiana has her hair tied loosely back, out of her face, and her lips are tinted with a new lip balm, cherry flavoured. Loki wonders if she’s done that on purpose because she knows how much he likes cherries.

 

At any rate, they sit, awkwardly, facing one another, wondering how best to initiate it, and then, somehow, before they know it, they’ve just gone for it. Loki slips one hand through her hair, cradling the back of her head and Georgiana tilts her face upwards to meet his lips as they slide across hers and then, somehow, anchor her there. They both relax and then allow the other access, tongues slipping and sliding over each other and tasting every inch of the other they can get, lips pulling at each other, nipping softly, teasing and stroking, gentle but passionate.

 

They kiss until their lips feel bruised and when they finally pull away, they have their arms around one another and it’s a while before either of them can speak. It’s Loki who finally does so. Even though his head’s telling him to ask her out, to tell her that it’s him she belongs with and not any of those other idiots who keep asking her out, his heart tells him not to, insecurities telling him that he’s not good enough for her, that she deserves better.

 

In a trembling tone he manages to say “I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about, Georgiana.”

 

She blushes, deeply, as she finally drops her arms from around his neck, and looks away, chastising herself inwardly for being so foolish. Of course he’s not going to kiss her again or ask her out, he’s Loki, he’s her friend, he only offered to do this because he’s her friend and he wanted to put her at ease. “Well, I don’t think you will either,” she stammers, pulling her hair free of its tie for want of something to do. “Thank you, Loki.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Loki says, with a nod, releasing her and mentally kicking himself; it’s too late, he can’t get that moment back now.

 

“Come on,” Georgiana says, in a brighter tone, getting to her feet and holding out her hand to help him up. “Walk me home? Mum doesn’t want me being late again.”

 

“Of course.” Loki lets her pull him up and they walk back together, talking and acting like this hasn’t even happened.

 

***

 

They apply to the same university and get in; Loki applies to do English whilst Georgiana opts for fashion. They don’t share any classes and their on-campus accommodations are pole apart but they still meet up in the cafeteria, sometimes with classmates. University is different, Loki realises; his classes are filled with like-minded people who genuinely take to him, so he allows himself to befriend them, even though he still counts Georgiana as his best friend. Sometimes, though, depending on their respective timetables, they meet up, just the two of them, have lunch, drink coffee, go to the SU Bar, and it’s like nothing’s changed at all.

 

One night they find themselves roped into attending an Open Mic Night at the local pub; a few of Loki’s friends were going and suggested he come and bring Georgiana along too. Loki finally agrees and asks her; she accepts.

 

That’s when it all changes. Because Georgiana meets William Cavendish.

 

She and Loki have been sitting in their seats, listening to a rather dark poem, reminiscent of Lord Byron, when she decides she’ll get another cider and fights her way up to the bar. Just when she’s pulling out her purse, however, an unfamiliar voice says “It’s alright, I’ll get these,” and Georgiana looks up to see a sophisticated looking man, a few years older than her, closer to Thor’s age than hers, smiling as he hands over the money.

 

“Oh, no, you don’t have to,” she begins, and then finishes up with “Well, I suppose you already have,” as the barman takes the money, not really caring who gives it to him.

 

The stranger smiles, broadly, at her. “Are you reading, or just here to listen?”

 

“Oh, I’m just listening,” Georgiana replies, picking up her drink. “I’m here with my friend, Loki.” She points over to where he is, in the corner, listening intently to a bit of flash fiction being read by a boy who looks like he’s just stepped straight from a graphic novel. “And yourself?” she asks, awkwardly.

 

“Same,” he replies, holding out a hand to her. “William Cavendish; and you are?”

 

“Georgiana Spencer,” Georgiana replies, blushing a little when he kisses the back of her hand, like a gentleman.

 

It’s at that moment Loki looks around to see where she’s got to, and feels his heart sinking at the sight of her talking to another man. He doesn’t feel angry, or jealous, just dismayed, for some reason, and a little annoyed with himself for not having asked Georgiana out that day they kissed. Before he can think about doing anything, however, a voice asks, “Sorry, is this seat taken?” and he looks up to see a girl his own age with a pretty little face and white-blonde hair peering down at him.

 

“Yes, I’m afraid it is,” he answers, quickly. “My friend’s just on her way back from the bar.”

 

“Oh.” The girl looks disappointed and then asks “You’re Loki, right?”

 

“Right,” he responds, confused as to how she knows his name.

 

“I’m Sigyn; I’m in your group.”

 

“Oh. Nice to meet you.”

 

“And you. By the way, I completely agreed with your theory about Heathcliff the other day in Gothic Lit. I was going to say something but then Alice started talking about Lockwood so I never got a chance.”

 

Loki smiles, and then, throwing a glance to where Georgiana still stands, talking to William, says “Actually, I think my friend will be a while yet, so, do you want to sit for a bit?”

 

***

 

It begins to pan out. Georgiana and William grown close. Loki and Sigyn grow close. Georgiana and Loki still remain friends, although something doesn’t feel the same anymore. Soon they’re both dating their respective new friends. Georgiana seems completely swept off her feet by William; he seems to be everything she needs, everything that Loki wishes he could be. He seeks comfort in his relationship with Sigyn, but whilst she is a nice person and easy to talk to and attractive and faithful and a wonder in the bedroom, she just isn’t Georgiana.

 

They graduate, however, lost in a facade of happiness, and wish each other well, promising they will keep in touch. Soon Loki learns that Georgiana has moved in with William. She is completely swept up in his world, making friends with the woman next door, a divorcee with two boys named Bess, and she spends a lot of time in a studio William has commissioned for her at the back of the house, designing.

 

Soon she lets him know that she thinks William might be about to propose to her. Loki feels like his heart is breaking, but his pride pushes him to simply wish her congratulations and shut down his laptop before he can throw the thing across the room. He and Sigyn haven’t talked about moving in together yet, thank goodness, although some of her stuff is here. But Loki knows that he can’t keep fooling himself, he can’t keep leading Sigyn on like this, not while his heart belongs to Georgiana. It isn’t fair on either of them.

 

***

 

Sigyn is surprisingly understanding and kind about it.

 

“Is is Georgiana?” she asks when he tells her that it’s nothing she’s done wrong, it’s all him. Loki looks at her in surprise and she smiled, sympathetically. “I’ve seen the way you look at her, the way you are with her. It’s ok,” she adds when he takes a deep breath to apologise. “I mean...we’ve had a good run, but it’s felt so...tepid these last few months.”

 

Loki puts his hands on her shoulders and looks into her eyes. “Sigyn, you’re a perfect girlfriend. Just not for me. I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s alright.” She hugs him. “You need to tell her. If you don’t, you’ll spend your whole life wondering.”

 

Loki knows she’s right, but right now he just can’t bring himself to. Instead he sits for a very long time after she’s left thinking about it, it would be so easy, just to pick up the phone or send her an email and ask her over, so he can tell her, but in the end, with a heavy heart, he just goes to bed.

 

***

 

Georgiana knocks rapidly, her heart racing, and then she turns to look down the street. She didn’t expect him to follow her, but even so, she’s on edge. As the wind whips her hair free from her hood, she wonders if Loki will notice the bruises, and then scolds herself inwardly, of course he will, he’s her best friend.

 

The door opens and then before Loki can say anything, Georgiana has flung her arms about him, buried her head against his shoulder and began to sob, but not before he has seen the state she’s in. It doesn’t take his 2.1 degree to figure out what’s happened to her. He quickly pulls her into the house, closes the door and then just hold her close, trying to sooth her.

 

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” he murmurs, rubbing her back, gently. “You’re safe.”

 

“Loki, I have never been so scared in my entire life,” Georgiana sobs, pulling away from him and covering her face with both hands. “I can’t go back there; I just can’t!”

 

Loki nods. He doesn’t ask, because he knows that she’ll tell him everything in time, when she’s ready to, so he doesn’t need to press her. Instead he leads her into the bathroom and then, as she runs herself a bath, finds her something to change into. It ends up being the smallest pair of pyjama bottoms he owns, with a drawstring at the waist, and an old faded sweatshirt, green in colour, along with a clean pair of socks, which he brings to the bathroom and leaves on the toilet seat for her. Neither of them speaks. He leaves her to bathe and goes to pour them both a generous measure of red wine; he just so happens to have Georgiana’s favourite kind in the fridge, and then waits on the sofa in the living room for her to emerge.

 

When she does so, she looks a lot better, although her face still has a few slight bruises, and the sweater, which was already big on him, swamps her. She settles beside him on the sofa and takes a large sip of her wine. They are silent for a few minutes, and then Loki reaches out and pulls her into another hug. Georgiana clings to him, feeling finally safe and warm in his arms. “Is it alright if I stay?” she asks, her voice shaking.

 

“Of course,” Loki answers, pulling her closer.

 

“I just...I just don’t know where else to turn,” Georgiana explains, finally breaking the embrace and mopping a few stray tears from her face with her sleeve. “I can’t go back, not with him like that. Tomorrow, maybe, when he’s not there...” Loki nods, slowly, and then she hears herself blurting it all out to him. “Loki, he’s changed; he’s changed so much since I first met him. He..and Bess...when I caught them at it, well, I just marched back into the house but he followed me and...” She shuddered before going on. “He dragged me into the bedroom.”

 

“And he hurt you?” Loki’s voice is fierce with quiet anger.

 

Georgiana nods, trying to stem the flow of tears. “In more ways than one. Loki...he raped me.”

 

Loki stares at her in shock and then pulls her back into his arms. She can feel him shaking with anger, anger at William for daring to do such a thing to her. “Georgiana, you need to report him. You can’t let him get away with this.”

 

“I know.” Her voice is thick with sobs and Loki runs a hand through her hair to soothe her.

 

“In the morning,” he murmurs. She’s had a rough enough night of it as it is. All she needs now is rest. “It’s alright. I won’t let him hurt you.”

 

Georgiana nods. “I know you won’t, Loki. Thank you.”

 

He’s all prepared to give up his own bed for her and take the sofa, as he leads her up to the bedroom. However, as Georgiana clambers beneath the covers, she turns to him, with pleading eyes. “Stay with me?”

 

Loki doesn’t need asking twice. With a small smile, he walks up to the bed. “Scoot over,” he teases, and then slides in beside her. Georgiana manages a small smile and then settles down beside him, her eyes drifting shut. Loki waits until he’s certain she’s asleep and then wraps an arm around her, holding her close.

 

He’s going to have more than a few words with William in the morning.

 

***

 

Morning comes around and Loki finds himself at William’s house. He doesn’t knock so much as hammer on the front door and the second it’s opened, well, he doesn’t hesitate to pour every ounce of his anger into William. Of course, William fights back, but his own fighting skills count for nothing in the face of pure anger from someone like Loki.

 

When he finally has William battered and bruised, and broken in a few places, on the floor he seizes him by the front of his shirt and pulls him up to face him. William’s barely conscious but Loki knows he can hear him.

 

“If you touch Georgiana in any way ever again, I won’t hesitate to kill you,” Loki hisses, giving him a little shake before flinging him onto the floor and leaving him to collapse in a heap, too weak to think straight.

 

Loki makes his way back home to find Georgiana in the kitchen, making a cup of tea. She looks a little brighter than the night before now and it warms his heart.

 

“Hi, where did you get to?” she asks, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

 

“Just had something to sort out,” Loki replies, calmly, and then, taking her hand, adds “How are you feeling?”

 

“Ready to call the police,” Georgiana replies, squeezing his fingers.

 

***

 

William is arrested on a charge of rape and abuse. He pleads guilty; Loki suspects that he’s too afraid of what he’ll do if he dares plead otherwise. He gets life imprisonment, much to Georgiana’s relief.

 

Loki helps her move everything from William’s house back to his own. There’s no debate about it; she feels safe with him and she can’t live there another moment. Bess tries to make up with her, but Georgiana can’t bring herself to forgive her. Instead she simply moves everything from William’s to Loki’s place, finding rooms for everything, even herself. Loki’s conservatory, which is never in use, makes a perfect studio for her designing. His house was designed for more than one person, so everything finds its place; even Georgiana. They share the bedroom, no questions involved, although it’s just like they’re children again, sleeping over each other’s houses, just sharing the bed to sleep in, nothing more.

 

Of course Loki wants more, he has always wanted more from her, but he decides that he can’t rush things. It’s too soon after her attack for him to admit his feelings to her. So, they settle into a pattern, an extremely comfortable one, and slowly the old closeness they once thought lost between them drifts back into being until it was as if it had never gone away, as if they had never met William and Sigyn, as if this is the way things have always been.

 

***

 

One night they’re sitting on the sofa, watching the end of some old film that isn’t really that good but they find themselves laughing at the American actors’ bad attempts at mastering English accents even so. Presently they both drift into sleep, and when Loki wakes up, he finds Georgiana’s fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. He smiles and tries nudging her with his shoulder, gently, but she doesn’t stir. So he gently butts her forehead with his own, murmuring “Georgiana,” until she lifts her head and blinks sleepily at him, a smile slowly forming on her lips.

 

Somehow, before they both know it, they are kissing. Loki slips one hand through her hair, cradling the back of her head and Georgiana tilts her face upwards to meet his lips as they slide across hers and then, somehow, anchor her there. This time, however, there is more passion, more vigour in their kiss than the last one, an attempt to make up for so much lost over the past years. Slowly, reluctantly, Loki breaks the kiss, wondering if he’s just ruined their relationship for good. Georgiana’s eyes flutter open and she murmurs “Don’t stop,” before leaning towards him again. With a racing heart, Loki meets her lips with his own, leaning back on the sofa, pulling her down on top of him and holding her tightly, hardly daring to believe this is real.

 

“Georgiana,” he murmurs softly, pulling away from her and looking deep into her eyes, cradling her face in one hand as she leans into his touch. “Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?”

 

“Yes,” Georgiana breathes back. “Loki... **you’re** what I want. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted and...I love you.”

 

“I love you too,” Loki confesses and then kisses her again.

 

***

 

Everything is so different now, Georgiana knows, as they get to their feet, embracing, kissing, touching the other everywhere. Somehow Loki just knows what she likes, how she likes it. Sex with William was so rough and vigorous, passionate yes, but with no warmth, it’s only now, being with Loki, that she knows what she was missing. He is gentle with her, when she wants him to be, and then he is everything else that she wants too as they tumble into bed, their bodies entwining and merging exactly as if they had been born to fit together.

 

Which, of course, they have.

 

They fall asleep together afterwards, cuddled up together, a tangle of limbs and two racing hearts melding into one.

 

***

 

Loki wakes the next morning with Georgiana in his arms. It feels like the most wonderful thing in the world. He wakes her with a soft kiss and a murmur of her name and she smiles, sleepily, up at him. “I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid,” she murmurs, and when he frowns at her, she elaborates. “I can’t believe I allowed myself to get involved with William when I should have been with you.”

 

“It isn’t your fault,” Loki murmurs back, playing absently with a strand of her hair. “I thought when I met Sigyn...but...well, that fell apart because I knew my heart belonged to you.”

 

“We’ve both wasted so much time apart,” Georgiana said, shaking her head before reaching up to cup his face in her hands. “Never again. This is us, now. You and me.”

 

Loki smiles at her, warmth flowing through him. “The way things are meant to be.”

 

“Yes,” Georgiana breathes before leaning up to kiss him.

 

“I’ve got something to show you,” Loki says, as she pulls away from him. He leans over her, his other arm still about her, to reach into the drawer of the bedside table and pulls out something which he holds up for her to see. Georgiana’s eyes widen and she gives a little gasp of delight.

 

“You kept it?” she whispers, looking over the stone shaped like one half of a heart. Then, wriggling out of his grip, she hurries to where her bag is slung over the back of the chair, fishes for something and scrambles back into bed beside him. “I kept mine too,” she beams, holding it up before taking his and slotting them both together to complete the heart shape they form.

 

“Perfect fit,” Loki murmurs, nuzzling her shoulder and neck.

 

“Just like us,” Georgiana agrees.

 

***

 

The news of the engagement comes as a surprise, and yet at the same time doesn’t, to their families. Thor sums it up best with what he says after they announce it, when their families get together for a garden party at the house.

 

“So, you two have finally seen sense at last, then?” he laughs before hugging them both in delight.

 

Though, of course, the wedding just feels like a formality, to make everything official, because to them it’s as if they’ve always been married, all their lives, this bond between them can never be severed by anything. But it is a glorious day when it happens, and everyone says Georgiana looks just like an angel in the elegant white gown she chooses. Thor proves to be an excellent best man, although he does make a show of being disappointed when Georgiana overhears him planning the stag night and insists “No strippers!” To which Loki points out that he wouldn’t want to watch any woman other than Georgiana take her clothes off anyway, leaving Thor shaking his head and muttering “Oh, fine, suit yourself, then!”

 

During the reception, the band starts playing the song “All I Ask Of You” from Phantom of the Opera, a song that suits them both so much that they can’t not dance to it. Everyone who knows them watches, smiling, and a lot of them wondering how they didn’t see it coming, all but Thor, however, who looks rather smug that he noticed it coming right from that day when Loki told him that Georgiana was his only friend, though he does manage to stop himself from gloating.

 

The honeymoon is the most romantic thing either of them have ever experienced, and even when it’s over, the feeling doesn’t die, even long into their life together. Of course it isn’t long before Georgiana receives some rather joyful news, which she decides to divulge to Loki during a housewarming party Thor decides to hold when he finally gets a place of his own instead of living with Volstagg and Fandral all the time.

 

“You’re practically glowing tonight,” Loki murmurs to her as she declines the offer of a glass of wine and opts for an orange juice instead. “Anything I should know?”

 

“Perhaps, but can you keep a secret?” she teases, softly.

 

“When have you known me not to?” Loki replies, with a grin.

 

Smiling, Georgiana moves closer to him and whispers “I’m pregnant.”

 

It’s all Loki can do to keep from sweeping her off her feet there and then, but not wishing to steal Thor’s thunder, so to speak, opts for kissing her breathless in his delight instead.

 

***

 

They are the only friend the other has, and the only one they will ever need, like two halves of the same heart, a perfect fit, a perfect match and a perfect love, forever.


End file.
